Solar Estimate

Solar-Estimate.org became a sister site to SolarReviews in February 2013. The site features two unique, homeowner and business owner friendly solar tools to help educate people about the benefits of rooftop solar, setting the site above and beyond most solar information sites—except, of course, SolarReviews.

True to its name Solar-Estimate features a solar estimator or calculator tool that allows people to estimate how much a solar photovoltaic system will cost them. The tool calculates a variety of important factors, including insolation (basically how much solar energy or radiation hits the area), how much the system will cost in the user’s ZIP code as well as how soon the user can expect a system to pay for itself. It’s also customizable so the user can choose the size of the array, how much of the energy he or she wants to source from the solar array as well as leasing, financing and other calculations.

The tool was initially funded through the Department of Energy. and is updated monthly to give users the most relevant, up-to-date information about the benefits as well as the costs of solar power. It’s also driven by data from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s PVWatts calculating tools using extensive weather, rebate and incentive data.

Solar Estimate also featured a directory of more than 2,000 solar installers across the United States and more than 9,000 personal reviews of those solar installers. Those reviews and installers can now be found at SolarReviews as well as the reviews submitted to SolarReviews.

Reviews of solar installers and the equipment they use is paramount to getting the best system for a home or business. By reading reviews of others’ installations, home and business owners can better understand how the installer interacts with clients, whether or not they respond quickly to customers’ needs and wants as well as whether or not they’re able to meet deadlines. With more than 9,000 personal reviews of solar installations and their installers across the country Solar-Estimate is U.S.’s largest source for solar reviews—and it's growing.

Together SolarReviews and Solar-Estimate offer easy-to-use and understand solar information helping users understand the benefits of solar, the best installer information available and connects them with installers directly.